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DOT creates new pedestrian safety campaign

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said on Monday that the campaign, called "Everybody Is a Pedestrian," is modeled after previous efforts to raise awareness about distracted driving and the use of seat belts in cars.

"When people think about safety, they usually think about roads and planes and trains and buses," Foxx said during a news conference outside the department's Washington headquarters.

"Very often they usually leave out the one method of transportation we all share," Foxx continued. "Whether you drive or fly or take at train or ride a boat or use [Washington's] Metro, everybody in America is pedestrian."

Foxx said the DOT was launching the pedestrian safety campaign because the number of pedestrians who were killed in the U.S. has increased 8 percent between 2009-2011. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said there were 4,432 pedestrian deaths that year.